


my head and my heart in the clouds

by lady_mab



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, September!Au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 12:03:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14769248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_mab/pseuds/lady_mab
Summary: A smile curled at the corner of Maxine’s lips and the surprise eased a degree. “No, that I got. I meant the ‘me’ part.”“Oh,” Maritime said, going hot and cold all at once. “Uh. Well. I need you to be my date.”“Me, specifically?”“You, preferably.”





	my head and my heart in the clouds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MadHattie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHattie/gifts).



> For MadHattie for the FATT Rarepair swap!!! Enjoy!!! (I love these girls!!!!)

Maxine stared at her like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide in surprise, eyelashes fluttering as she struggled to piece together the request. “Sorry, what?” 

The two of them sat in Maritime’s room -- Maxine at her desk, spinning idly in the swivel chair and fiddling with a stylus, and Maritime on her bed, feet dangling over the edge and pillow in her arms like a shield. Maxine had frozen at the question and dropped the stylus in her lap. 

Maritime pushed down the sudden rush of Regret™ and hugged her pillow closer to her chest. “Alright, so Blue World has an end of the year showcase, and--” 

A smile curled at the corner of Maxine’s lips and the surprise eased a degree. “No, that I got. I meant the ‘me’ part.” 

“Oh,” Maritime said, going hot and cold all at once. “Uh. Well. I need you to be my date.” 

“ _Me_ , specifically?” 

“You, _preferably_.”

This caught Maxine off-guard, and the smile that had been fighting against her lips the entire conversation won out for a flash of a brilliant grin. She brought it quickly under control, but not before Maritime found herself also caught off-guard by the honesty in the expression. “Any particular reason?” 

Maritime knew she would have to answer this, but it still felt embarrassing to have to explain herself. “Everyone like… expected me and Aria together. As friends, you know? And we agreed that we would. But then she started dating Jacqui, and…” 

“It sort of fell apart?” 

“Yeah. I mean, I’m happy for her. Even if it sort of threw everything off.” 

Maxine nodded and quirked an eyebrow. “I’m still uncertain how I fit into all of this.” 

She took a breath, held it, counted to five. “Well… people started saying that now I wasn’t going to find anyone to take. Because I’m like… anti-social for a Blue World student, or I intimidate people or something. But I confronted some of them and said that… I was dating someone… and that I had been keeping it a secret because of their status... “ 

“Oh?” Maxine started, then both eyebrows shot upwards and something resembling amusement and embarrassment colored her cheeks. “Oh! So we’re dating now?” 

It sounded sort of ridiculous once Maxine said it out loud. 

“If I had to pick someone from White Star, I would  _ prefer _ it to be you.” Maritime hoped that they were good enough friends for this to be just… water under the bridge later down the line. That it wouldn’t offend Maxine or some sort of Kesh policy. Or make her sound like a complete idiot. “Just for the showcase. And then we can have a breakup worthy of political scandal for you and an acting award for me.” 

Maxine considered the idea with a long, thoughtful hum. And she was no actress -- Maritime could see the exact moment she made up her mind, but continued to draw it out. To the point where Maritime started to fidget uncomfortably, wanting the result to be delivered, to know how much she might have messed up their friendship with this request-- 

“Alright,” Maxine said, and Maritime felt her eyebrows go up in surprise. 

Her pulse also went up, but that was easy to ignore. 

“Really?” she asked despite herself. 

Maxine laughed, a short burst of sound before she covered her mouth with her hand. “Really,” she echoed when her giggles finally came under control. “Under one condition.” 

“Yeah. Of course. Anything.” Maritime practically tripped over the words in her rush to say them. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all. 

“We keep up the charade long enough for you to accompany me to the Young Leaders Conference Dinner at the end of the month.”

Maritime’s eyebrows went right back up again, and Maxine gave another round of giggles barely smothered behind her hand. “Me? To a White Star dinner?” 

Maxine’s smile flitted between the gaps in her fingers, but shone brightly in her eyes. “Yes you.” 

She wasn’t too sure how to process that information, running it over and over again in her head. “Why?” 

The answer she received was a content hum and Maxine leaned back in her chair, hooking one elbow over the back of it as she considered Maritime. “I would hate to fake-date you for such a short period of time.”

This also was very difficult to process, but that could have also been because Maritime’s thoughts scattered to the winds and all she could think of was that her cheeks felt very warm and her heart was beating rather fast. “Oh,” she finally said, thought it came out more as a squeak. “Cassander isn’t going to take you?” 

Maxine’s shrug was indifferent, but the annoyance was evident in the way the corners of her mouth turned down. “They haven’t asked me yet, and it’s at the end of the month. I’m not about to sit around and  _ wait _ for them to ask when I have a far better option. Let them scramble at the last-minute and get stuck with like… Mako or something.” 

Maritime thought this over, ignored the part where she was the “far better option”, and nodded slowly. “I do enjoy to see them uncomfortable.” 

“Same here.” Maxine’s lips curled into smirk, and she leaned forward with her hand held out. “So it’s a deal, then?” 

“Yeah…” Maritime said, slowly. Then, with more confidence as she held out her hand, “Yeah, it’s a deal.” 

Maxine’s handshake was solid, curt -- a politician’s handshake. But then her fingers curled around Maritime’s wrist and she pulled herself across the space from the desk chair onto the bed. 

With a start, Maritime jerked backwards onto her pillows, the one on her lap tumbling to the floor. “Uh--” she tried, but the words wouldn’t come. 

Taking a moment to fix her skirts, Maxine glanced up at her through lowered lashes and tilted her head to the side. “Oh come on, we’re supposed to be dating! I can’t sit next to you on your bed?” 

Alright, how was Maxine so much more cool about this? Maritime thought that Maxine hadn’t been an actress, but she slipped into this role far easier than Maritime originally would have given her credit for. 

“We are,” she defended. “I just wasn’t prepared.” 

Maxine glanced from her back to the chair. “I can move, if you’d prefer…?” 

Maritime swallowed and shook her head. Whatever happened during this month of their fake relationship wouldn’t have anything to do with the possibility of real feelings. Something she would definitely not stop to consider. “It’s fine. We’re fine. So. Right.” 

If Maxine sensed any of the internal struggle and hesitation, she didn’t show it. She sat a few respectful inches away, hands folded her her lap. 

Maritime swallowed again, and this time shoved her hesitations down as she settled back into place alongside Maxine. “We should… start on getting our story down. And then we can discuss what you’re going to wear.” 

There was a beat as Maxine listened, and then her face lit up with curiosity. “Is there a dress code? Oh, is it a themed gala? How are we going to get outfits in time?” 

Warming up to this second by second, Maritime leaned over and bumped her shoulder against Maxine’s. “It’s a very good thing we’re students at the September Institute, isn’t it? And that we’re very talented at manipulating the Mesh.” She couldn’t help the grin that formed as she watched the ideas flit over Maxine’s face. 

“Of  _ course _ your showcase would be in the Mesh space…” Maxine mused. “Well, we better get designing then, hm?” She gasped, and patted Maritime’s knee excitedly with a string of ‘oh oh oh’ tumbling from her. “Our outfits should match the theme of our first date!”

“Which was?” 

“That cherry blossom exhibit at the start of this year from the Rose Moon class,” Maxine said without hesitation. “And then a walk on the beach.” 

Maritime blinked, startled by the sudden memory of one of the first times they hung out together as friends. “You remember that? More importantly, do you mean we’ve been dating this whole year in secret?” 

“Only if you think it makes sense....” Maxine might have blushed, but she turned her head away too quickly and fiddled with the headcovering. “And don’t sound so surprised. I really enjoyed that walk, because you were the only one who wanted to go with me.” 

“Well…” Maritime started before realizing that she didn’t actually have an excuse beyond that she wanted to hang out more with Maxine before parting ways. “Yeah…” 

It was Maxine’s turn to lean in and bump their shoulders together. “I’m cherry blossoms. You’re ocean.” 

The bump knocked the laugh loose that had been caught in Maritime’s throat. “Well, how about I design both, and  _ then _ you can decide,” she said as she accessed her personal Mesh space within the campus system.

“I guess we’ll see, then,” Maxine hummed as she tucked herself in against Maritime’s side. 


End file.
